I'm Already There
by RobertDowneyJrLove
Summary: He was always with her, all she had to do was look and there he would be. Contains Character Death. I DO NOT OWN!


He had called her halfway to his mission in Afghanistan, his voice breaking with every word as he told her that he loved her and that he hoped to be home soon. He had nearly broken down completely when she reassured him that she loved him too and that she would be waiting on the couch like she always was. He was only supposed to be in Afghanistan for a couple of hours, dealing with a couple of hostage situations that had gotten out of hand. That had been forty eight hours ago and nobody had seen or heard from him since he had called her.

Always having a sense of his own mortality, he had told her that if he didn't make it back to remember how much he loved her. She had begged him not to talk like that, not to think he was going to die and had told him repeatedly that he would come home and when he did, she would be there. Only she hadn't known then that the next forty-eight hours would prove to be the worst kind of torture. She had been firmly planted on the couch for the last forty-eight hours, still dressed in Tony's black t-shirt as she either prayed or cried, as she waited for Rhodey to bring her the news-whatever that maybe.

"Pepper," Rhodey's solemn voice broke through her reverie as he made his way into the living room of the Stark mansion. "They found him, Pepper."

Pepper looked up, her swollen blue eyes meeting the sad brown eyes of Tony's best friend, "Wha-What happened? Is he okay?"

"No," Rhodey shook his head, looking down. "No he's not okay. Pepper, when they found Tony, the suit was blown to pieces and he was buried in the sand."

"No," Pepper breathed, standing up from the couch, "Don't say it, Rhodey, please tell me it isn't true! He's alive, please tell me that he's alive!"

"I wish I could, Pepper, but I can't lie." Rhodey shook his head sadly, "Tony didn't make it. He had severe injuries, sand in his airway and the suit had sucked the power out of his arc reactor. He couldn't fight for very long without the arc reactor and with the injuries he sustained, he had little fight left to begin with. He was bruised, bloodied and was already dead by the time they found him."

Pepper completely shattered, the tears rushing out of her eyes in floods as she buried her face in her hands and sobbed in pure agony. Anthony Edward Stark, the only man on earth she'd ever considered calling her best friend, her boyfriend, was gone. He would never tell her he loved her or call her 'sweetheart' ever again. She would never be able to look into those warm brown eyes and see that crooked but sweet little grin that lit up his entire face. He would never greet her in the morning with a sweet, tender kiss or rub her back after a long day or even just when they were laying in bed together.

"He's gone." Pepper sobbed into her hands, "How can he be gone? He was Iron Man for crying out loud! How can he be gone?"

Rhodey just stayed quiet as she broke down already knowing there wasn't much he could do-only one person had ever been to get through to Pepper when she was like this-and that person happened to be the reason she was like this in the first place.

"He was my best friend." Pepper told him tearfully, "Nobody ever compared to him. He wasn't just my boss or even my friend, he was my best friend. There were times when I needed my best friend instead of my boyfriend but I never had to tell him, he always knew. He always knew when to let the best friend take over and put the boyfriend on the back burner. He was my best friend, above everything else. There was never a time when I didn't think of him as my best friend."

"He told me once that you were the only person he'd ever need in his life, the only woman besides his mother that he'd ever bothered to care about. To him, you were everything he'd ever needed and more." Rhodey told her quietly. "You were his best friend, Pepper. He loved you more than he loved life and after you got together, he said that if there ever came a mission when he never made it back, he'd die a happy man just knowing that you loved him."

Pepper didn't say anything, she just curled into the arm of the couch and rested her head in her hands. Rhodey took that as his cue and stood up from the couch. He kneeled down in front of her and gently brushed her hair away from her face.

"I have to go, I'm needed on the base." Rhodey told her softly, "I'm sorry, Pepper."

Pepper nodded and watched him go, barely responding when he kissed her forehead. As the door closed behind him and Jarvis locked it, Pepper finally broke completely. Her defenses shattered and every tear left in her was shed as the grief consumed her and she let herself drown in the memories of her best friend and boyfriend.

_"I love you, Virginia Potts." _

He would never say that again. He would never tell her how much he loved her and even though she knew, she still liked hearing it. She still needed to hear him whisper that tender phrase that had been her strength for so long. The phrase that had kept her going somehow, it was three simple words that had meant so much to Pepper. Somehow he had always known just when to say it, just when she needed to hear it. She would miss that about him. She would miss everything about him.

_"Pepper, remember something for me. No matter where I am, whether I'm alive or maybe I'm gone, I'm always here with you." Tony had told her once, "In your heart, the place I've been for the last two years. Just look at the moon, listen to the wind and feel the sun, and you'll find me. You'll feel the love we've shared." _

It had been his promise. His promise that he was always with her, dead or alive. At home or on a mission. He had told her look at the moon shining through the window, listen to the wind and to feel the warmth of the sun and she would find him and she would feel the love that they had shared. That she would find him in her hear where he had taken up residence in the past two years.

"I miss you already, Tony." Pepper whispered, staring at the picture of him on her cell phone, "I love you, Anthony Stark. I know that we're thousands of miles apart right now but I keep remembering the promise you made me and somehow I know that wherever you are, you're keeping that promise."

And if she closed her eyes just for a brief moment and listened, she could hear his voice whispering in the wind, a calm reassurance that he loved her. The sunshine streaming through the window was warm and reassuring, just like his touch had been and if she let the warmth encase her, she could feel his touch. With every heart-beat and every passing moment, she could feel him with her, emotionally and spiritually. He was already keeping his promise. He was there with her always, just as he had promised.

_"...We may be a thousand miles apart but I'll be with you wherever you are, I'm already there, take a look around. I'm the sunshine in your hair, I'm the shadow on the ground. I'm the whisper in the wind, and I'll be there 'til the end. Can you feel the love that we share? Oh I'm already there, oh I'm already there.." _

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_**As odd as this may sound, this was actually inspired by Steve Irwin-odd right? Let me explain. There is a video on youtube of Steve Irwin and family set to I'm already there by Lonestar-the song at the end, and it just inspired me to write this. Also the beginning was inspired by Terri Irwin saying that her husband had a sense of his own mortality. I wanted to give Tony that same trait, just a little darker, because Tony Stark is kind of a dark character. I cried writing this, my poor eyes can't take much more :( **

**Love ya, **

**RobertDowneyJrLove**


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